[a] in taco (was: Re: English syllable structure)

From: "Tristan Alexander McLeay" <anstouh@...>
> On Sun, 9 Dec 2001, Anton Sherwood wrote:
>
> > Tristan Alexander McLeay wrote:
> > > Ever watched `the Simpsons'? They say /t{ko/ all the time.
> > > So, indeed, do most American tv. shows.
> >
> > taco rhymes with Jacko?  <shudder>
> >
> > maybe i need to watch more tv to monitor the rot.
>
> Actually, seems I'm wrong. The American /{/ is lower than mine, so I was
> already accounting for that and what was really [a] I ended up hearing as
> [{]. But that doesn't alter the fact that everyone here `knows' Americans
> say /t{ko/ for `taco'.
As I think about it, I think that [a] is rather more common around here than in
just "taco".

It may be that [a] is an allophone of /A/ in America, but of /&/ in Australia,
hence the odd assignment?


    *Muke!